Epson Scanner Does Gallery-Size Enlargements

Epson's latest model is the first flatbed scanner we've reviewed that offers a maximum optical resolution of 6400 dots per inch, which is a significant advance over the current crop of 4800-dpi scanners. While a scan at 4800-dpi resolution is usually sufficient for producing up to 16-by-20-inch prints, a 6400-dpi scan can deliver a fine-quality, gallery-style 25-by-40-inch print.

The 14.6-pound V700 is a dual-purpose model that can scan both film and reflective materials (such as photo prints and paper documents). However, the V700's 6400-dpi resolution is available only for film scanning; the maximum optical resolution for reflective scans is limited to 4800 dpi. In testing a production version of the V700, I scanned a variety of photos and 35mm film originals, at various resolutions. The overall image quality was excellent; the test images displayed fine color balance and saturation, and the 6400-dpi film scans were particularly impressive at capturing and maintaining fine details.

The device's brisk performance (tested via its USB 2.0 connection) stacked up well against the results from other flatbeds PC World has reviewed recently. It scanned a full-page color document (at 300 dpi) in 22 seconds, and did a 35mm slide (at 1200 dpi) in less than a minute--both very good scores compared with those of competing models.

Epson ships the V700 Photo with a capable photo editor and a good optical character recognition application. The result is a solid package that's easy to recommend.